Story at a glance
- ”Articles” belonging to Brian Laundrie were reportedly found in a Florida environmental park.
- The family’s lawyer made the announcement on Wednesday.
- Laundrie has not been seen since Sept. 13.
The lawyer for the Laundrie family said Wednesday that “articles” belonging to Brian Laundrie have been found in an environmental park in Florida.
“Chris and Roberta went to the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park this morning to search for Brian,” lawyer Steven Bertolino told The New York Post in an email. “The FBI and [North Port Police Department] were informed last night of Brian’s parents’ intentions, and they met Chris and Roberta there this morning.”
“After a brief search off a trail that Brian frequented, some articles belonging to Brian were found,” Bertolino added. “As of now law enforcement is conducting a more thorough search of that area.”
A tent has since been put up and the Sarasota County Medical Examiner’s Office and cadaver dogs have been called to the scene. NBC News has reported that partial human remains were found in an area that had previously been flooded.
Changing America has contacted the North Port Police Department and the FBI for comment.
Laundrie’s parents reported on Sept. 17 that they had not seen their son since he went to hike in the Carlton Reserve, a 25,000-acre wildlife refuge, on Tuesday, Sept. 14, though they later said he actually left Sept. 13.
Laundrie was previously named a person of interest in the investigation into the disappearance and killing of his girlfriend, Gabby Petito.
Petito, 22, set out on a cross-country road trip from New York, where her parents live, on July 2 with Laundrie. The couple had been documenting much of their travels on YouTube and social media under the moniker Nomadic Statik, and Petito stayed in touch with her family throughout.
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However, she hadn’t been seen since Aug. 25, and her family hadn’t officially heard from her since that day when she Facetimed her mother, Nicole Schmidt. Her family reported her missing on Sept. 11 after failing to hear from Petito. Schmidt claims she also attempted to contact Laundrie, as well as Laundrie’s mother, when she could not reach Petito, but she received no response.
Petito’s remains were found in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming on Sept. 19, and the coroner determined her manner of death to be a homicide. The Teton County Coroner Brent Blue confirmed in a press conference Oct. 12 that her cause of death had been strangulation. Petito’s body was in the wilderness for three to four weeks prior to being discovered, according to Blue.
Though he would not comment on any potential suspects in the case, the coroner did confirm that authorities were able to collect outside DNA samples from Petito’s body.
A federal arrest warrant was issued for Laundrie on Sept. 23 on charges of bank fraud for allegedly using a Capital One Bank debit card and personal identification numbers for two accounts without authorization for more than $1,000 worth of goods following Petito’s death.
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Published on Oct 20,2021